Profile

Jest Murder Mysteries was founded in St Louis, (1999), by actor, writer, director Randy Manning. Finding success with his previous murder mystery shows, Randy believed that he could produce a better show.

Randy's plan? Combine funnier actors, funnier writing and more audience participation. It was a formula that worked, (and worked well). Although Jest started out as the smallest murder mystery provider "in the world",...they are now the largest in St. Louis, and arguably in the United States, (maybe that means in the world too?)

Some of Our Shows Include

A Dickens of a Killing

A Dickens of a KillingWelcome to a Holiday Party in Merry Olde England!

A little singing! A little dancing! A little murder! What could be more fun?

Of course, Scrooge is up to his old tricks again, and someone bumps him off!

Whether you want to participate a little, or a lot, you're sure to have a jolly good time, in jolly olde England, with "A Dickens of a Killing!"

A Fistful of Hollars

A Fistful of HollarsWelcome to the western town of "Dry Gulp".

You have been invited to a party thrown by Digger Deep. He's the local mortician who is trying to drum up a little business.

How does a funeral home drum up business? By inviting Nasty Nate, the local bad guy to the party.

Surely they'll be a "killin" or two. But guess who gets "kilt"?

I guess we'll have to call on that crack detective, Squint Leastwood to find out who did it! Someone you know? Or maybe it was you?

You'll meet lots of fun characters! Characters like Fanny Dango, Wyatt Burp, and Messy James and lot's of others! We promise a wild ride at "A Fistful of Hollars!"

Don't forget to wear your boots, 'cause it's gonna get pretty deep!

The Comic Book Killer

In a world where Super Heroes and Super Villians clash....there's no room for trouble. But that's exactly what the evil Doctor Weevil is. Trouble!

He's out to cause problems any way he can! He proves that there is no honor among thieves because he's out to destroy both good and bad guys!

But wait! Someone stops him! Who could it be?

You?

The Haunted Hunter

The rumor is true! Word on the street? This place is Haunted!

That's right! ...and lots of famous sleuths, detectives and ghost hunters from around the world will be there to catch a glimpse of our famous, (and elusive), ghost "Billy", (better known as "Billy, the Spook").

Gee! If someone gets "Whacked", we'll have plenty of detectives to solve the crime, won't we!

Everyone plays a part! You could be "Sherlock Homes", "Miss Garble", or even "The Hardly Boys".

Gallery

Testimonials

We hired JEST Murder Mysteries for the holiday show, “A Dickens of a Killing” for our company Christmas party. In the past, we had poor turnout for our ‘oh-so-boring’ events. When the murder mystery dinner was presented, we had 82% sign up. The show was very entertaining, the price was VERY reasonable, and including our employees was just the icing on the cake. The actors were wonderful, fun, showed up on time, and were great sports, as our employees threw them several curve balls in the show. Everyone enjoyed the show. We thought the ad-libs Mary Beth and David had to do because of our staff’s ad-libs in the show were great. The fact they laughed at us and got to giggling made it much more fun. Thank you so much for the wonderful time and for adding to the great success of our company Christmas party.
- Jere, Intellitec Medical Institute, Colorado

It’s never easy to find something fun to entertain 18 year-olds, but you did just that. You took a room full of kids who barely knew each other and got them to interact and be silly. It was so much fun to watch them come alive. Many of them commented that they didn’t believe they would have so much fun!
- Julia, Midwest Parent Educators, Kansas

Loved it!! Randy and MaryBeth were awesome!! Everyone completely enjoyed it. I was nervous about how everyone was going to accept the interaction part, but they jumped right in! I didn’t realize how funny some of my neighbors really were until this show. Randy and MaryBeth were really quick-witted and held the audience’s attention well! Great job guys! Can’t wait until next year.
- LeAyn, American Red Cross

I thought the show went great. It was a totally different crowd then last year. I enjoyed it and I think everyone else did too!
- Lara, Marshall Area Youth Network, Illinois

Having never been to a murder mystery show, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go over. It was great! They made the entertainment committee look great for having this show.
- Roger, The Morning Club, Iowa

We LOVED it! It brought out the “actors” in our managers, and I have heard nothing but great comments about the mystery! “Thank you” to you and your team for an entertaining performance.
- Staci, St Louis Union Station Marriott, Missouri

Everyone loved it!
- Gale, Violia Environmental Services, Illinois

We all thought the actors did a fantastic job, and we all had so much fun. Everyone is still talking about it today! Thank you for making our evening special!
- Linda, Oneok Partners, Chicago, Illinois

We had a blast! Very apprehensive at first, but we were very impressed with the actors. Zev and Jenn were a blast!
- Ruth, Advocate Trinity Hospital, Chicago, Illinois

Fantastic and very funny! I thought they did a great job. They were excellent!
- Aileen, LDGRE/HCC Life/HCCSU, Louisiana

We all thought it was great and a good time was had by all. The worst part about the event is that you guys set the bar so high for this year’s Christmas event. I have no idea how to keep next year from being a little bit of a letdown…(but that is my problem.)
- Archie, Universal Construction, Illinois